Warp beam



Sept 28 1954 T. E. WATSON WARP BEAM 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. 18, 1952 569k 28, 1954 T. E. WATSON WARP BEAM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 18, 1952 Patented Sept. 28, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates in general to the construction of beams for the winding of yarns and cordage, and in particular to the construction of warp beams.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved beam structure adapted to the particular requirements of modern practice in the textile industry.

Since the development of the cord tire for automobiles, and also with the advent and widespread use of synthetic yarns such as rayon and nylon, the manufacture of tire cord and of synthetic yarns customarily takes place at localities far distant from the sites of the tire industry and of the weaving of the synthetic yarns into fabrics. Hence it has become the practice to ship the yarns and cords from their points of origin to the users while Wound as warps upon warp beams, the beams themselves thus becoming the carriers for the yarns or cords while in transit. Thus in addition to the exacting requirements of true shape, smooth finish, and accurate balance needed for proper running at present high speeds in modern warping machines, the beams must be very strongly constructed and well fortified against damage under the severe handling incident to their shipment as freight. These beams when filled must carry a load of yarns weighing often in excess of 1000 pounds, and the splintering, loosening, or spreading of a head on a loaded beam through dropping the beam or striking the head in handling can cause the loss of the entire contents of the beam through preventing its unwinding; Prior constructions have left room for improvement both in the matter of producing beams capable of maintaining the true dimensions required for high speed winding, and also in the matter of enduring the stresses of shipment in loaded condition, with the result that short life and frequent replacement of these relatively costly pieces of equipment have been the rule.

To provide a warp beam capable of meeting the exacting requirements of these two fields of use as well as offering advantages in the way of more perfect functioning and longer life for general use in the textile industry, I have devised the novel and improved warp beam shown and described in the accompanying drawings and specication.

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a vertical axial section of one end of the beam, the other end being of identical construction. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the beam showing one head and parts thereon.

In the particular embodiment shown herein as illustrating the principles of the invention, the beams shaft I supports a plurality of hubs 3 which as heretofore are made of Wood and glued together in pairs with their grain at right angles. These hubs are distributed at spaced intervals throughout the length of the beam as preferred or needed to support the several staves 5 forming the barrel 1 of the beam. The staves are aflixed to these hubs both by gluing and also by screws 9, countersunk and covered by bungs II.

At each end of the barrel is provided a member I3, herein termed a spider, of cast iron having a prolonged integral sleeve or hub I5 fitting closely upon shaft I and secured thereto against relative rotation by a key Il. This spider has a flange I9 to which the several staves are bolted by bolts 2I put through the staves and through the flange I9 and secured at the inward surface of the latter by nuts 23. The heads of the bolts are countersunk and bunged just as are screws 9.

It will be noted that this spider I3 is polygonal, herein ten-sided, in outline in face elevation as shown in Fig` 2, providing a plurality of flats 25 on which the respective staves 5 are seated. The wood hubs 3 are identical thereto in peripheral size and shape, with their flats correspondingly disposed angularly about shaft I.

This arrangement makes it possible to form the staves 5 with inward and outward surfaces which are flat and parallel, the fiat inward surface tting upon and conforming accurately to the flats on the spiders and hubs. This is in contrast to prior practice, in which the staves have had to be run through a molding cutter to hollow their inward surfaces into an are designed to fit the curvature of the previous circular hubs on the shaft and heads. It has been found in practice to be quite difficult to obtain and maintain the same radius on the molding cutter as on these hubs, especially after the necessary repeated resharpening of the cutter blades. As a result, in prior structures the staves did not seat accurately against their hubs throughout their entire width. This has resulted in subsequent warping and other changes in the shape of the applied staves, throwing the winding surface of the barrel out of smooth and true cylindrical shape after completion of the beam. The flat construction herein is not only much easier to make, but gives a perfect and lasting bearing of the staves upon the spiders and hubs. This minimizes warping and splitting of the staves in use, and results in superior retention of the true cylindrical shape of the beam barrel imparted thereto by turning down the outer surfaces of the staves after assembly on the spiders and hubs.V

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the beam barrel is provided with a special outer surfacing characterized by extreme hardness and resistance to splitting, seuffing, or chipping, while being capable of taking a smooth and highly polished finish. I have found thatl the compressed indurated wood ber product known commercially as Masonite is especially suitable for this purpose. The Masonite is applied in its stock form of sheets, of uniform thickness to one surface of the wood stock, of plywood' or otherwise, from which the staves are to be cut, the Masonite being bonded to the latter by any suitable adhesive, of which the waterproof urea-formaldehyde type is preferred. Thereafter the composite material is sawed into strips of suitable width, and the edges beveled' at angles suiting the number of stavesin the barrel being formed, as established by the faces oi' the spiders and hubs. The staves dare then applied successively to the spiders and hubs with glue applied to their beveled surfaces and to the' flats of the hubs 3, and fastened by the screws 9. 'and bolts 2l.

This construction avoids the necessity of tonguing .and grooving the adjacent edges of the staves, hitherto adopted in the effort to hold the edges of the individual staves from warping and rising from the prior circular heads as a result of non-conformity of the arcuate under surface of such staves, and for other reasons referred. to hereinafter. Hence the final stave completing the barrel is simply laid in place, and thus an adequate coating of glue is present on its beveled edges Iand between its under-surface and the hubs. In the prior tongue and groove construction, the nal stave had to be driven in endwise, whereby practically all glue was wiped off from its edges by the end surfaces of the adjacent staves, and stripped off from the hubs by the leading edge of the final stave as it advanced; thus this stave was inadequately held in place.

After the novel barrel has been thus assembled, the tie-rods 39 described hereinafter installed, the bungs inserted, and the adhesive set, the barrel is then turned down to a true This speciali surfacing permits the finishing of the barrel diameter, in a 10-inch barrel, for example, to a tolerance of i004 inch, far closer than attainable heretofore with plain wooden staves, where the best corresponding tolerance limit is in the neighborhood of i035 inch. Thus the harmful' jumping and pounding of the beam from .a barrel surface out of round is avoided during the winding. After sanding, lacquering, and waxing, an exceptionally smooth and true surface devoid of any flaws and highly resistant to splitting, scuffing, or other damage capable of fracturing or injuring relatively delicate synthetic yarns such as rayon and nylon, is permanently attained.

To the same end of attaining a smooth yarnengaging surface immune to splitting, splintering, and roughening of the beam head, a noveland improved construction thereof is also provided. Thus each beam head 3B is composed of two disks of 5-ply plywood 3l, 33, adhesively bonded together and additionally fastened together by screws 35. This plywood head is covered at both faces throughout its entire extent with a facing 3l ofMasonite adhesively bonded thereto. In addition to making a superior yarnengaging surface, the Masonite adds to the strength of the heads in resisting deflection and spreadingunder the load ofithe. yarn anddamage Novel provision is also made for uniting the heads to the barrel, attaining a superior degree of strength and rigidity of attachment. To this end, tie-rods 39 are. provided inthe barrel as usual, but unlike prior constructions these tie-rods are not embedded in grooves in the staves, but are located inside the barrel l at a substantial distance radially inward from the staves. Thus, four tie-rods 39 are located at points 90 apart about the axis of shaft l, passing through oversized holes dl in the wooden -hubs` 3 and fixed in holes l5 in the web of each spider i3 by means of nuts 48 and lock washers standing at each face of the webs. By placing the tie-rods radially inward away from the staves, the grooving of the staves for the reception of the tie-rods is obviated, thus avoiding the weakening. of the staves and theA persisting invitation to splitting thereof inherentv in the prior channeling practice.

The tie-rods terminate within the length of the barrel, just after passing through the spiders I3 in which they .are anchored. As they do not pass through the beam heads, the barrel is a complete unit with its tie-rods installed and tightened up before it is turned down to nal' shape in the lathe. Thus is avoided the distortion of the beam resulting from the prior practice of'extending the tie-rods through the heads. The latterv must be applied after the turning is completed, and as the tie-rods are tightened the beam barrel is sprung more or less, in such prior forms.

rlhe oversized holes 4l in the hubs 3' and the automatic aligning of these holes and holes throughout the length of the beam by reason of the ats on the polygonal surfaces of the hubs and spiders as the staves 5 are applied, make easy the insertion of the tie-rods 39, thus materially speeding up assembly of the beam barrel.

The heads 3l! are centered with respect to the barrel l by the t of their central bores [i3 upon the reduced end portions 45 of hubs l5 of the spiders i3', the inward Masonite-covered face of eachV beam head seating against the shoulder lfl f screws entering tapped bosses 53 formed on the interior Wall of flange I9 of spider I3. Additionally, a nut 55 is applied to a threaded portion 5l' on shaft I adjacent the reduced end portion 5S forming the journal of the roll, the nut bearing inward against the plate 5l. It is to be noted that each head is not only replaceable but also reversible, in the event of damage.

By using an even number of tie-rods, herein four, of equal weight and equally spaced about the axis of shaft I, instead of the usual ive tierods, and by employing an even number of fastenings 49 all of the Same weight and also equally spaced about such axis, the beamv admitsof being precisely balanced both statically and dynamically, as each and every part of the entire beam structure which has any significant weight and which is eccentrically disposed has its counterpart of equal weight diametrically opposite and symmetrically located. This. is of extreme importance in modernv high-speed warpingy practice, especially with synthetic yarns, where beams are driven at speeds often in excess of 700 R. P. M., and where one of the chief limiting factors is the vibration of the warp beam at high speed and under its heavy load.

The long hub l of spider I3 not only transmits the load borne bythe end portions of the barrel l of the loaded beam directly to the journal 59 without imposing any of such load on the beam heads, but also delivers this load to such journal at a point very close to the journal itself. The long hub l5 further braces the end of shaft i adjacent the journal, so that the inevitable bending of shafts which occurs in the handling and shipment of loaded beams is confined wholly to the journal without producing relative movement of the head across the end of the barrel, instead of occurring within the end portion of the beam barrel, and admits of being corrected while the shaft remains in the beam. By the same token, springing of the head and opening of the joint between the head and barrel when a loaded beam is dropped is far more strongly resisted.

The attainment of a stronger beam while eliminating the usual metallic spiders distributed at intervals in the length of the barrel, and also the heavy metal hub conventionally applied to the end-most wooden hubs 3 solely for the purpose of making possible the straightening of bent shafts, effects a substantial decrease in the weight of the beam which is of great economic importance to the mills through its saving in freight rates on the beams both when loaded and when returned empty.

Each beam head is provided as usual with a metal rim 6i which as hitherto is rolled down into a groove running around the periphery of the head 39. However, in accordance with the invention, the rim after being placed on the head and before being rolled down into the groove is drilled and countersunk at frequent intervals, the drill also passing inward into the wood, and metal pins 63 are driven through the bored holes into the wood of the head. The heads of the pins are then soldered in the countersunk areas of the rim with silver solder. Thereupon the rim is rolled down into the groove of the head, seating the pins to their full depth. This prevents the rim from coming off as a result of flattening and loosening by bumps which the head receives when the beam is dropped. The rim overlaps and shields the edges of the Masonite sheathing of the heads. While the heads of the pins may alternatively be xed to the rim by welding after rolling, the silver solder method is preferred, because the flexibility of this solder permits the work to be done While the rim is flat, without cracking during the subsequent rolling down into the groove.

While I have illustrated and described certain forms in which the invention may be embodied, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by any person skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to the particular forms shown, or to the details of construction thereof, but what I do claim is:

1. A warp beam having in combination a shaft, heads, hubs on the shaft having polygonal peripheries, staves each having a flat surface engaging flats on the peripheries of the hubs and lateral faces engaging the adjacent staves, and an arcuate surface concentric with the shaft, the lateral faces being plane and radially disposed to the shaft.

2. A warp beam having in combination a shaft, heads, hubs of polygonal outline on the shaft, staves each having flat inward and outward surfaces mounted on the hubs, and a surfacing of sheathing material having an outward partcylindrical surface concentric with the shaft alxed to the flat outward surface of the stave.

3. A warp beam having in combination a shaft, heads, a hollow barrel, members in the barrel ends aiixed to the barrel, fastening means attaching such members to the heads, and tie-rods extending through the barrel and such members and terminating short of the heads.

4. A warp beam having in combination a shaft, heads, a hollow barrel, members in the barrel ends affixed to the barrel, fastening means attaching such members to-the heads, and tierods extending through the barrel and such members and terminating short of the heads and located in spaced relation to the inner wall of the barrel.

5. A warp beam having in combination a shaft, hubs mounted thereon, staves aflixed to the hubs forming a barrel, a metal spider in each end of the barrel and fixed to the staves and having an axial extension, tie-rods less in length than the barrel connecting and fixed to the spiders at points radially inward from the staves, heads each mounted on the axial extension of one spider, and fastening means extending through the heads and into the spiders.

6. A warp beam having in combination a shaft, a barrel, heads on each end of the barrel each having a peripheral groove, a metallic rim on the periphery of each head having a depressed portion occupying the groove, pins extending through the depressed portion and imbedded in the head, and silver solder fixing the pins to the rim.

7. A warp beam having in combination a shaft, heads, hubs on the shaft having ten-sided polygonal peripheries, and staves affixed to the hubs each having a flat surface engaging flats on the peripheries of the hubs, and lateral faces engaging the adjacent staves.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 159,686 Knowles Feb. 9, 1875 459,646 Pleukharp Sept. 15, 1891 688,603 f De Walt Dec. 10, 1901 965,982 Beal et al. Aug. 2, 1910 1,307,526 Tuttle June 24, 1919 1,470,946 Thornton Oct. 16, 1923 1,523,789 Oliver Jan. 20, 1925 1,741,800 Washburn Dec. 31, 1929 1,844,861 Mason Feb. 9, 1932 1,981,771 Benge Nov. 20, 1934 2,076,084 Howsam Apr. 6, 1937 2,148,394 Thornton Feb. 21, 1939 2,184,739 Fyles Dec. 26, 1939 2,237,048 Carter Apr. 1, 1941 2,266,903 Pierce Dec. 23, 1941 2,419,614 Welch Apr. 29, 1947 2,538,697 McCaskie Jan. 16, 1951 2,606,138 Welch Aug. 5, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 111,751 Australia Oct. 16, 1940 

